Shifter Situations: The Chronicles of Sloane King Page 18

  Baylor swung his head around to glance at Briggs. “I’m not commenting on that. I have a mate, and Stone has already kicked my ass once since I’ve known him.”

  Briggs snorted. “So has Vaughn, but I’m guessing that you don’t want to think about that either.”

  “Nope.”

  “What happened?”

  “Bay hit on Freya. He learned the hard way that Vaughn is protective of his sisters.”

  I thought about that as we cleared the treeline near the lodge. Did I know that my fae had sisters? I couldn’t remember, but I hoped that they were old enough to see what their mother had been doing.

  I was going to kill her.

  I wouldn’t leave Vaughn’s sisters without, though.

  How old were they? I wondered if they had the same striking, icy eyes that my mate had. If they looked anything like him, then they’d be breathtaking.

  I could understand why he was protective of them.

  I had—and still would—kill for Jack.

  The floodlights on the outside of the lodge illuminated the empty yard. I breathed deep, enjoying the scent of the azaleas framing the wraparound porch. Briggs and Baylor both growled low in warning as another dire wolf approached.

  He shifted to his skin, standing naked in front of us. His dark brown hair was mussed, and the lights reflected in his deep green eyes.

  “The Elliott boys have certainly worked their way up through the ranks since the last time I saw you.”

  Anger coursed through my bond with Briggs, and Baylor’s chest vibrated as he bared his teeth. I shifted too, thankful that I could choose to keep my clothes on.

  If this man pissed my mate off so quickly, I definitely didn’t want to face the issue naked.

  “That’s what happens when you have skills that are invaluable to the Supreme Alpha. Did you have a complaint that needed to be addressed? I’d be happy to assist you.”

  “I suppose you’ll be coming for the Colorado pack now that you two are all grown up and making connections.”

  He took a step forward, and I wasn’t sure if it was meant to be threatening or not. I extended my arm, laughing as the flat of my palm struck his shoulder and knocked him back.

  “Consider this your official warning, because I don’t have time for you to become another issue on our plate. You can’t touch the Elliotts outside of a sanctioned challenge fight. They’ve made all the right connections, and now they’re heavily protected players on the board.

  “If one hair is harmed on either Elliott brother—by you—then you face punishments in accordance with the treaties between the House of Vampyre and shifters as well as the Underworld and shifters. The new leaders won’t take kindly to your blatant disregard of laws that have been in place for a century or more.”

  “Who are you to cite laws to me? Other than the hybrid trash that Charlie King tries to pass as his offspring.”

  I briefly thought about killing him, but I’d let Briggs make that decision.

  For now, I wanted to leave him with a gentle warning.

  “I’m the High Coven Mistress of Vampyre, so your punishment would rest upon the shoulders of my mate and me.”

  I wobbled my head side-to-side, finally tilting it slightly to the right as I examined him. A relaxed smile stretched across my lips, razor-sharp teeth on display as my demon surged to the surface. I patted his shoulder, patronizing him as my mate and his brother lumbered toward the porch.

  “I’m also the Third Devil of Hell, so your punishment would, again, rest upon the shoulders of my mate and me.”

  I bit at my nail, thoroughly enjoying the stupefied expression on Colorado faction alpha’s face.

  “Oh, and as of tomorrow, I’m one-half of your new Supreme Alpha. Briggs Elliott is one of my mates, so you know…”

  I shrugged. “Punishment, shoulders, that whole line one more time. Just be careful, that’s all I’m getting at.”

  As I passed him, I stopped, taking a step back to stand beside him. Turning my head to look at him, I smirked.

  “Your life now rests in the Elliott brothers’ hands. I’d be really fucking nice if I were you, because if they want you dead, then you’ll be dead. They belong to the Devil, and you’ve got our attention now. That’s not a place you’re going to enjoy being at.”

  I began walking away, calling over my shoulder, “Trust me when I say... The Devil doesn’t care about you. She only cares about her treasures and vengeance, and you’re not one of our treasures.”

  17

  Vaughn

  Saturday, June 6th

  Late Morning

  I couldn’t decide if I was turned off by guns because I had a natural source of power or for some other unknown reason. But whatever it was, I didn’t like them. I wasn’t anti-gun, but I wouldn’t actively use them either.

  Being friends with the shifters meant that I, at least, knew how to use one properly.

  Briggs and Baylor were adamant about everyone coming outside with them to practice. Something was worrying them; they weren’t ready to talk about it, though.

  Grim had put some sort of gray, shimmering dome up around the area, including the cabins we were staying in. He said that the bullets shouldn’t stray outside the barrier, but he didn’t sound positive, or maybe I was reading too far into his mood.

  Sloane and Jack didn’t seem to be concerned about the reaper.

  I didn’t know why so many of them were in weird moods, but it was bothering me.

  And while I was on the subject of things that I didn’t know...

  Something had transpired on the hunt last night. Both of the Elliott brothers had been temperamental since they’d returned. Sloane had been a little too peppy to pass as normal behavior.

  I leaned in close to her, whispering, “Did something happen last night?”

  “Yes, but I’m not sure of the significance of it. I want to ask, though I’m not sure that I want to know the answer.”

  “Who did you kill?” Novak asked.

  “No one,” she murmured. “Yet.”

  The vampire narrowed his eyes. “Then what happened?”

  “The alpha from the Colorado pack tried to start some shit with them, but I didn’t really give them a chance to say anything back to him. Should I have kept my mouth shut?”

  I shook my head. “No. I don’t think either of them would have had a problem with you killing him either.”

  “Why?” Sloane inquired cautiously.

  I glanced at Briggs and then back to Novak. Was it my place to tell her? No. Would Briggs talk about it? Also no.

  Novak sighed. “That’s the man who killed their dad. From what we’ve been told, it was a dirty fight. I’ve glimpsed a few memories, and it definitely didn’t look like a clean challenge. But I don’t know enough about those laws or rules or whatever to really understand what went wrong.”

  I nodded, agreeing completely. “Briggs doesn’t talk about it, but we do know that once his dad was dead, the new alpha in charge threatened them. I think he said he was like thirteen, so Bay would have been twelve. Their mom moved them here for protection. She committed suicide when Briggs was eighteen.”

  Sloane closed her eyes, shaking her head. “Don’t tell me any more. It doesn’t feel right to talk about it without Briggs. Even if he doesn’t want to say the things, I’d still rather he be present or at least know that he doesn’t care about us talking about it.”

  “You’re right. He’ll tell you when he’s ready to.”

  “But now you know more about the alpha, and that was the point,” Novak expressed, laying his arms across mine and Sloane’s shoulders.

  “Yeah. I told him last night that if the Elliotts wanted him dead, then he’d be dead. All they have to do is say the word.”

  Novak grinned. “What’s the word?”

  “Barbie,” Briggs called. “Come here.”

  “It’s whatever you want it to be. I don’t need a reason; I just need to know the who of it. Anything you guys
want…” She shrugged. “It’s yours.”

  She wandered to the other side of the clearing in front of the cabin, listening intently as Briggs spoke to her. He had a gun lying across the palm of his left hand as he motioned to it with his right. Jack laughed silently, bumping Grim’s shoulder as he tilted his head in Sloane’s direction.

  “She knows how to use that gun better than Briggs does. I’d bet just about anything on that,” Novak mused.

  I pondered for a second before speaking my thoughts aloud.

  “It would seem that the Kings taught her how to do a lot of things, but they left out some of the basics. She and Jack have extensive knowledge of weapons and fighting. Have you seen either of them doing anything mundane, though?”

  “Not that I can think of.” His arm fell away as he watched her thoughtfully. “What’s she like at work?”

  “Powerful.” I shrugged. “But I don’t really know. I got an email before we went to the Underworld from one Sloane King, CEO saying that my request for extended leave had been accepted.”

  “Look at you taking time off work,” Novak teased.

  I chuckled. “I didn’t do it.”

  He nodded. “I figured you didn’t.”

  A few gunshots popped off, and I winced as my ears rang. Novak closed his eyes, the heels of his palms pressed to the sides of his head.

  He shouted, “Earplugs. Tell us when we need fucking earplugs.”

  Baylor tilted his head in consideration. “You, uhm, you need earplugs. You can use these empty shells if you want.”

  “Did you—” Briggs cut himself off as he walked to their targets. “Who taught you how to shoot a gun?”

  “Dad and Franklin. The vampire is older than dirt, and Dad was in the Revolutionary War. He’s been using guns since before 1776.”

  He scrubbed at his beard with both hands. “You just listened to me explain... All that shit, and you didn’t think to mention that you already know it?”

  “I needed a refresher. You’re good at explaining the ins and outs.”

  “Do it again,” Briggs challenged.

  “Draw from your hip,” Bay added.

  She flicked the lever on the side, the safety I thought, and tucked the gun into the waistband of her jeans.

  Briggs looked to Baylor, glancing down at his phone before saying, “Go.”

  She whipped the weapon out in a series of fluid motions, bringing it straight out in front of her at chest level. Four shots went off rapidly as she moved through Briggs’ targets. Then she stopped, removing her finger from the trigger and putting the safety back on.

  “That’s four chest shots in like six seconds,” Bay muttered.

  She grimaced. “I haven’t practiced in a while. Is that bad?”

  “No. I mean, it’d be more impressive if they were headshots, but—”

  “Here we go,” Jack acknowledged, rolling his eyes. “He’ll learn. Eventually.”

  Sloane slung her hand out, hellfire flying from her palm to hit the target. “I don’t want to kill anyone with a gun. That’s not as fun as, say, pulling your enemies apart or burning them alive.”

  Baylor turned to Briggs. “I don’t know if she’s insane, delusional, or both.”

  “Neither,” Briggs replied. “That’s how she feels. She’s being honest. I watched her remove a demon’s tongue last week.”

  Stone smirked, and I had a moment where realization dawned on me.

  We all had a darkness within us, but our mate was really showing us that we could thrive in it.

  I couldn’t recall a time where I’d unapologetically been myself. There had been some kind of constant fear behind my choices; whether it be rejection, being caught, or anything in between.

  Novak had pulled me into her thoughts the other day, and I’d heard her say that she couldn’t decide if I was the white knight or the dark prince.

  I knew the answer to that.

  I wasn’t a white knight at all. None of us were.

  I was the dark prince, running from a death sentence.

  My hands weren’t clean by any means, but my conscience was. I’d always felt like the darkness inside me was a horrible thing to carry. Now, it wasn’t so much of a burden or a curse. It was more like a forbidden gift that I’d never tried to understand properly.

  And suddenly, going back to the winter realm didn’t seem so daunting. My mother was bad, but she wasn’t the worst. Or the best? The best at being bad?

  No.

  My mate was the Queen of Death. The Duchess of Despair? The Ruler of Nightmares?

  Novak snorted at me. “Keep going. I hope she’s listening. Those are the kind of titles that she’d love to acquire.”

  “How many times have you been called nosy this week?”

  He hummed. “Like two…”

  “You’re fucking nosy.”

  “Palmer,” Sloane whined, pulling my attention away from my thoughts and the smirking vampire.

  “Show me how you do the little finger gun things with your magic.”

  The mage didn’t even think about his response. “Nope.”

  “Please,” she sweetly asked, flashing him a bright smile.

  “Have ye not got enough weapons already, Love?”

  She rolled her eyes at him. “Is this how you do it?”

  He shook his head quickly. “Don’t do that.”

  “Why not?” she questioned, furrowing her brows at his wide eyes.

  “Love, do not let that power go,” Palmer warned.

  I could see the mischief in her eyes from across the yard as she challenged the mage. “Or what? What will happen?”

  “Don’t be a brat.”

  Briggs snorted, mumbling, “She’s always a brat.”

  Sloane snapped her head to the wolf, pulling her focus away from the power in her hand. I didn’t see the magic release, but some limbs fell off the trees in front of her, and there was a loud bang.

  We all moved to look through the freshly made path between the trees. The magic had hit the back of the lodge, more specifically some large plastic-looking containers full of water.

  “Fuck,” Lo drawled, pulling her shoulders in as she covered her mouth.

  “That’s not good,” Jack murmured to her.

  “What did you do?” York asked quietly, unable to pull his eyes away from the wreckage.

  “We should leave,” she said in a rush. “Now.”

  I shook my head at her. “I’m sorry, come again?”

  She grinned at me. “Later. Right now we need to run.”

  “Why?” Stone questioned.

  Before she could answer, Charlie roared, his wolf making itself known even through his human vocal cords. He turned, following the path of destruction, and Lo urgently whispered, "Run."

  She and Jack hauled ass toward the treeline, both of them cackling like lunatics. Charlie slowly walked up the path, visible vibrations wracking his body as he talked to himself.

  York and Stone stepped into the Void.

  Palmer pulled Briggs and Baylor with him as he followed the demon and druid.

  “This should be fun to watch,” Grim commented, wrapping his arm around Blaire before disappearing.

  I placed my hand on Novak’s shoulder, misting us inside the nearby cabin.

  Sloane and Jack popped into the kitchen a few moments after we landed in the living room with everyone else. We all froze as Charlie stomped up the stairs, slinging the front door open with so much force that it swung shut in his face.

  He pushed it open again, bellowing, “Sloane Osiris and Jack Draven.”

  “In here,” she yelled, knowing he could have heard her whisper.

  Jack leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “I didn’t do anything this time.”

  Charlie took a deep breath, rubbing the heels of his palms over his cheeks. “Have you lost your fucking mind? You blew up my water towers. Two of them.”

  “It was an accident,” Lo confessed, biting her lips together.


  “Do you know how much they’re going to cost to replace?”

  She sat in a chair at the kitchen table, tucking her hands under her thighs. “I do not. How much?”

  Charlie growled at her.

  “Dad, just take it out of my allowance,” she smarted.

  “You don’t get an allowance. You’ve never gotten one. Don’t be a smartass.”

  He huffed, pacing the length of the kitchen. “You and Jack were always causing some kind of trouble as kids, and age clearly hasn’t helped you grow out of that trait.”

  Jack tilted his head in agreement, and Sloane rolled her eyes at him.

  “I’ll pay for it, Dad.”

  “I don’t have water.”

  “That was your reserve,” Jack argued. “You only use it to water the plants.”

  Charlie threw his hands in the air, shouting, “That’s not the fucking point!”

  Sloane held her hands up in surrender, glaring at Jack before turning back to her dad.

  “You’re right, and I’m sorry. I was playing with power that I didn’t know how to control, and my shot went wide.”

  “You did that with a gun?” he asked in exasperation. “Who the fuck gave you a firearm with so many people around?”

  “With finger guns,” she sang.

  “Devil help me,” Charlie muttered to himself.

  She smiled at him. “I’m trying…”

  “Where is Nate when I need him?” Charlie tipped his head back, and Sloane sobered immediately.

  “Has Papi heard from him?”

  “No. Not since we talked to him in Baton Rouge. Sunday will be two weeks.”

  “Awesome,” Sloane replied dryly. “Just add that to the never-ending to-do list. I’m officially calling Sunday an off day so I can try to track him down.”

  Her dad chuckled. “Some of the faction alphas were full of complaints this morning, too.”

  “We knew they would be,” she commented absently.

  “Why?” Palmer asked. “Doesn't the Supreme Alpha normally consist of a mated pair?”

  Briggs glared at the mage.

  “What? I’m not trying to be a dick. I’m genuinely asking. I know it’s a sensitive subject, but I don’t see why the alphas would be upset.”